Flu Prevention Comes to Town

Flu season is probably not the first thing on your employees’ minds these days.

After all, it’s only the middle of August, and the flu generally doesn’t peak until November.

But with kids going back to school and summer marching steadily toward fall (hard to believe when it’s 100 degrees in the shade where you live), the flu vaccine is coming on the scene.

If your office was affected by last year’s outbreak of H1N1, or if your employees have ever tossed around a severe cold or bout of seasonal flu, it probably cost you a pretty penny in the form of absenteeism, productivity, and health care.

And the statistics are pretty eye-opening: According to the CDC , each year more than 200,000 people are hospitalized with flu complications, and an average of approximately 36,000 Americans die from those complications.

This year, the CDC is encouraging everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated. This excludes babies younger than 6 months old, but presumably that doesn’t apply to you, so a shot should be in your future.

Manufacturers say they will have more than 170 doses on hand and have already begun distributing the vaccine nationwide.

It’s never too early to start planning ways to keep your staff healthy. Remind them that the best way to keep from getting sick with the seasonal flu, and passing it on to family, friends, and coworkers, is to get a vaccination.

If the flu does strike, do your best to keep it out of the office: